Hamilton fastest in first Hungaroring practice

25 July 2014 – Lewis Hamilton set the standard as the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend got underway on Friday morning. The Mercedes driver clocked a time of 1:25.814 in the opening session to lead team-mate Nico Rosberg by 0.183 seconds. Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso were their nearest challengers.

Fresh from his German Grand Prix triumph, which put him 14 points clear at the top of the championship standings, Rosberg controlled the early phase with Pirelli's extra set of Prime tyres.

As the session developed, Rosberg and Hamilton gradually lowered their times on fresh rubber, but it was the latter – a four-time winner in Hungary – who came out on top by just under two tenths of a second.

The Ferraris were the best of the rest, with Räikkönen six tenths and Alonso a full second adrift of Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel struggled with the balance of his car throughout the session, complaining that he lacked grip "everywhere". But the reigning World Champion still outpaced team-mate Daniel Ricciardo by half a second.

Jenson Button, who claimed his maiden victory at the Hungaroring eight years ago and also triumphed on his 200th race at the venue in 2011, wound up ninth, with Williams driver Felipe Massa completing the top 10.

There were plenty of minor mistakes on a dusty track surface in the opening 90 minutes of action, but only Sauber's Adrian Sutil and Caterham's Marcus Ericsson suffered full-blown spins – both avoided damage.

Marussia's Max Chilton was restricted to little mileage after encountering a gearbox problem on his install lap.

Friday's second practice session at the Hungaroring gets underway at 14:00 local time (GMT +2)

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